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Fan, 10-300 - UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF tHE INTERIOR STArt!: -

PJuIy 1969 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Rhode IslandcouNty

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES ,.. WashingtonINVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM FOR NPS LiSP ONLY

- ENTRY NUMBER 1 DATE

Type all entries - complete applicable srctions -

ftJAME - - - ‘‘ --- -- - - -

COMMON - - - - - -

Fort Ningret - .. r -

AND/OR HIS roRic -

The Njantic Fort .- -

_____________-

- -

Sr ‘ICEt ANL NUMBER: -.

Fort Neck.Road southei’ly end--

________________________________

-:CITY Or TOWN: - - -

Charlestown - -.

STA ILCC

-7JCOLJNTV- - C Dr

Rhode Island, 02813 [II Washington - ooy

CATEGORY OWNERSHIP STATUS -ACCESSIBLE

heek One TO THE PUBLICz0

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___________________________ ___________________

U.’

U.’U,

E District D Building Public

Site D’Structur, C Private

C Object C Both

PRESENT USE Check One or More as Appropriate

Pub!

-

-

ic A

Cfl

-

cquisition:

In Processj, :.Being Con’idered

;

C Occupied "‘;‘.

Xj Unoccupied ‘-‘- C Rstricted

- C Preservotiorpwork‘- Unretricted

in progres C No

.

C Agricultural

C Comniercia I

Educational

C Entertainment

C Government

Ej Industrial

C. Military

C Museum

Park C Transportation ‘ - C Comments

OWNERS NAME: -

State of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsSTREET ANO NUMBER; - - - -

State- House, .90 -Smith StreetctTY OR TOWN:

Providence

ftLOC AllOW OF LEGAL DESCfPTION -

COURTHOUSE REGISTRY OF DEEDS. ‘tTC;

Town ClerkSTREET AND NUMBER

Box 373CtTY OR TOWN;

Charlestown

REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYSTtTLE OF SURVEY

DATE OF SURVEY: C Federal C State fl County

- If -

- -

--

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C LocalDEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS;

STREET AND NUMBER:

CITY OR TOWN: . STATE:

C ReligiousC Private Residence’ C Other Specify

j Scientific

Li_OWNER OF PROPEPTY

___________________________

STATE

F’ci: - -- ‘-4’7 iF,’.4j1’jY: f Pe F7?

- ‘‘ - ‘- --‘

DESCRIPTION ‘ ‘‘‘ sf

Check One

- C Excellent LI Good C Fatr LI Deteriorated LX Ruins C Unexposed- ‘ - CONDITION - - - ---_-------‘- .- -- ‘-- -‘ -;-‘ Check One - ‘

-‘ -‘:- ‘ F Cheek One - ‘ -‘

- LI Altered - C Unaltered - - - C Mov.d 1- Otiginol Sit. -‘ -

DESCRI BE THE PRESENT AND ORIGIN AL II known:PHYSIC AL4PPEARANcU -

At the head of Fort Neck Pond--an arm of Ninigret Pond’on thesouthern coast of the state--stand the remainS of a small earthworkLoft which was probably built by Dutch traders in the first half of the -- - ‘ - -

seventeenthcentury. The fort, high on a Oliff just above the; water’s ‘ -

edge, is basically- square: approxiiviately 170 feet by 150 feet;’ with -

hexagonalbastions approximately 20 feet across at all but the south-west corners. The fort’s shape is defined by- a continuous low embank-ment of earth and stone -nibble, with a slight trench bordering it’ - ‘ - -

along the outer edge. The walls were originally stone but have long - -

since -been torn down for building matex’iafl - - - - :‘1 - ‘-" -‘ ‘

- I ‘ Originally thought’ ‘to have been an Indian fort’, the ‘thr e-quarters- ‘ -

‘ of-an-acm site was ‘dedicated as a memoria1to the Niantic aüd Narra- . :- -

gansett tribes on August 30, 1883, and named "Fort Ninigret" ‘-in" honor ofthe great Niantic sachem. The original -outlines are now protected by -

- -‘ r-- an iron railing, and an engravedboulder marks the center.of thefort’s

‘‘.-H ‘ ‘ location. Since ‘1883 the site has been maintained as a ‘park tf thestate. ‘ -

- I . .- - I - - " -

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F Il t;

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a LSIGNIFICANCEI F T7‘r -

PERIOD Check One or Moie n FA!et9t0te ‘ - - . -F - -

C Pre Calumbtan IF C 16th Century C 18th Century C 20th Century

C 15th Century LX 17th Century C 9th Centtfty

SPEcIFIc DATES AppIicabSn end Kndwn C. 1637 -. ---- ‘ F. -

AREAS OF SIGNIFIcANcE’ Check One-at Mon as Appmprioie- ‘‘a,- -: . -‘ -L ---‘- -

Abacig,nal C Education- fl Political C Urban Planning

0 PrehIstoric - C EngInening- C R.Iigion/Phi 0 Other Specify

LI] HIstoric 0 Industry ‘ losophy -‘

C Agnicultvre-

0 Invention- C Scencs’

______________________

o Archit.cture 0 Landscape C Sculpture

- 0 Art - - Architecture C Social/Human- ‘ - -- _; ;

Coam.rc. - ‘ --0: Literaure .‘ - - I itarian - ‘ . - -

o Cactmunicatioris Military C Theater

______________________

Caaservation 0 MusicI- 0 Transportation . -- - -

STATEMENT OF SiGNiFIcANCE

It is believed that Fort Ninigret was originally a Dutch trading LIpost established in the first half of the’ seventeenthcentury. As

U, such, it is evit-lenceof early exploration along Long Island BauM and .

2of early military exigineei’ing ‘ir America. The Dutch West India Company, formed in 1621, built its first fort in Connecticut in 1633, and

-*-0 -- the erection of Fort Ninigret must date from soon thereafter. ‘These -:

- forts were small in scale-and were used Sroutposts for Itrading with -

I- - the Indians. - - - -. I --

‘

o ‘ ‘ - - - - - -

Traditioñ suggeststhat the fort was later held by the Niantic - F

Indians * This tribe had been driven from’ Connecticut by’ the Pequots-. -

and under their chief, Ninigret, had found refuge among the Narragan-setts. - - - - - - ‘ -

U, - .

a In l7!37 the GeneralCourt of Connecticut declared -war on’ the bel- -‘ -

- ligerent Pequots. Late in May of that year Captain John’ Mason, with - -‘-, -

- a force of ninety men, sailed Into NarragansettBay. - Reinforced by IUi about one hundred Narragansetts,Mason’s group marched along the shore,

headed for the Fequot fort at Mystic, ConnecticutU, ‘ . - - -.

Upon reaching Fort Ninigret they were met with open hostility. IMany Niantic braves had married Pequot squaws, and tribal sympathieswent distinctly against white men. After two days of talk, Mason con- - 4tinued on his way, with neither help nor--hindrance from the Niàntlcs. - -

On June 7 he surrounded and destroyed the.Pequot fort, thus saving the- -&c

English settlement in Connecticut. ‘ ‘

.-

Becauseof this legendary connectionwith the Niantics, the re-mains of FortNinigret were made a memorial to that tribe in 1883. -

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CORNER LATITUDE LONGITUDE -

CODE

LA T IT U 0 E - LONGITUDE

APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED pROPERTY: IzthanpbeIacre - I- -

LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERtIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES -

ATE: - - - - - ‘- I’

STATE:

CODE

cc u F-I T Y: ‘ - - - - I -

CODE

CODE

7 -‘ F if ‘TI F

I "I II 1r Ft’t ‘lI’4Fi,fl,IF

ftAJoR BIBlIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

U S Works Progress Administration Federal’Writers’ Project RhodeIsland. A Guide ... Boston, Massachusetts-,1937. -- - -

Rider, Sidney-S.: The Lands of Rhode Island as They Were Known to Cau- - - -- -

- - -

- nonicus and Miantunnoni Providence,RhodeIsland, l901-t. - -- ‘

Tucker, William F.: Historical Sketch of the-Town’ of Charlestown- - --

Westeriy, Rhode Island, 1877

GEOGRAPHKAL DATA -

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LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE C0000INATFS I - LA1ITUOE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES -II’DEFINING A RECTANGLIEILOCATING THE PNOPEkTV 0 I.IEFIN1NG THE CENTER POINT OF A PROPERTY

R- OF LCSSTHAN TEN ACRES -

Degrees Minutes Seconds Degree, Minutes Second, Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds‘lw 0’:

lxl° 22’ 52N 7101381 57W -

NE 0 . - 0. ," , -- -

SE 5 -

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-, -

______________ ______________

-

--

Ill

_____________

__ ___________ __

Ill

STATE: - ‘ CODE COUNTY: - - CODE

" - - ---- -H- -

- STATE: ‘ CODE COUNTY:- " --

- CODE- - - - - -

FORM PREPARED BY -

________________

----

4 NAME AND TI TLE: - - ‘ -

Clifford M Renshaw, III, Consultant fl

- J ORGANIZATION - - - - -- DATEP -

Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission- --- April 15, 1971STREET AND NUMBER: - -‘ - - -

-- -o -

State House, 90 Smith Street -I_ ‘ ‘-

‘

- ‘7CITY OR ‘TOWN: - STATE CODE ‘ - I H

Providence ‘ - Rhode Island, 02903 1C/, -

STATE LIAISON OFFICER CEIiTFtCA1ION - NATIONAL REGISTER VERIFICATION

As the designatedState Liaison Officer for the Na- - -- - - P- - - - : - I hereby certify that this property is mcluded in the - -

-:

tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 Public Law - " - ‘

4 89-665, 1 hereby nominatethis property for inclusion- Notional Register. -- - - - - ‘

in the National Register and certify that it has been - - - 1 - -

evaluated according to the criteria and procechires set _:_ - ‘

forth by the National Pork Service. The recommended -- -1 114

level of significance of this nomination is: -- F_ -

National fl State Local C - -‘

_________________

I

Name ‘ --

‘ - ‘‘I ‘ ‘ ,

- 4’Title

________ ___________________________________

-

Date

____________________________-

- Late ‘ - - ‘ ‘ -

C!IIO1, Office of Archeology and Hist,ric

Dot.

-ATTEST: - ‘ -

Keeper of The National Register

-- - I.

-I

Preservation

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UNITED Si AT[S DcIArTMFN OF iDE INTERIORNATIONAL PARK SERVICE

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

PROPERTY PHOTOGRAPH FORM

Type iii! cnrie - iittich to or cnclosewith photograph

1 Al

Rhode IslandCowl TV

WashingtonFOR NPS USE ONLY

ENTRY tUP4I,Ll CATU

JI_.IIiIiTIIiiIi 1iiiii1iiTTJThIMON Fort. fliniprch

ON ll$TOIIIC:

LOcATION **‘:..

cTFL!CT AND NUMBER:

Fort Neck RoadCITY OR TOWN:

Ch-r1etcynSTATE: I CODE 1UNTY -

Rhode Is1nr1 r 1111 1 Washinton

[PHOTOFEIERENCE -* . -

jHOTO CREDIT: Clifford ::. Rena’.r, IIIjflATLOFPHOTO: Larch, 1971EGATIVL FILED AT: Rhode Ilanci Hitor;tcal PreservationConiission,1.DENTIF lCATON -IDESCRI liE. VIEW. DIR EC TI ON, ETC.

Generalvie- of the fort site, looks n nnrth-.Test.

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tINIltDSiAII, Ill IAIIMINI NI III IIIH Rioi!.IAII -

NATIONAL F’AKK S RVICL Rhode IslandCOUNTY .

WashingtiFOR NPS U[ ONLY

ENTrIYFIU,.FJ1:H NAIl

lflM3N: Fort_Ninigret

_________ ____

Oil IIITORIC:

LOCAUON

______- _____ ____

STRLLT AND NUMEFER:

Fort 1Iec Road

_____ ___________________ _______________

CITY Oil TOWN:

Charlest.o’m

_________________________________

STATE: J CODE COUNTY: CODE

Rhode Island- f tt Washingtcn 009

PORFERENCE *. :-:---.*- -. -- . .- .-. -- -*

PHOTO CREDIT: Clifford N. Rensha’y, lit

______________________

DATE OF- PHOTO: Narch, 17i - -

EGATIVE FILED AT: Rhode Island Historical PreservationCommission,t,ate House, 90 Sirit! Streejjroiri denc,02°01

DENI1ICATjON

________-_________________________ ________________

DESCRI[3C VIEW, DIRECTI ON, ETC.

NATIONAL REGISTER OF FISTORIC PLACES

PROPERTY PHOTOGRAPH FORM

Typc all cnfrie.s - ittach to or trc/si wit/i

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1Form 1O.3O UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE

July 969 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Rhode Is land

NATIONAL REGISTE1 OF HISTORIC PLACES COUNTY

- W-ishington- PROP ARTY MA FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY

ENTRY NUMBER I DATE- Type all entries - attach to or enclosewith map

-______________Z :-.:. .-----:-.-: --.. T

o [COMMON: Fort Niniret -

- I0’OR HISTORIC:

______ _________ _________

-

_____ ______________

STREET /.ND NUM EFER: -

UFort Neck Road -

CITY OR TOWN: -

ChariestomSTATE: 1 CODE jCOUNTY: I CODE

Rhode Islnc1

__________

N[, iashingtonCe

__________ _____ ______ ____

SOURCE:

- U. S. Geological SurveyCALE: 1: 2’,OOO

DATE:

w

_____________________________________ ______________________________________

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TO BE INCLUDED ON ALL MAPS

1. Property broundorios where required.

2. North arrow.

3. Latitude ODd longitude reference.